Thursday, August 02, 2007

"...At last someone found the ring somewhere on the floor. The husband, flustered and relieved, returned to his chair and declared that he would never let anything happen to his wife’s ring. The wife was happy, my parents were happy and the rest of the evening was uneventful.

About two years later, the wife died in a car accident. The husband left for another country sometime after that, taking with him their only child, a daughter my age. I have been told that he has since remarried. I often still think about that evening at the restaurant..."

"Some days, you and I go mad.Our bellies get stuffed full,Hearts break, minds snap.We can’t go on the old way soWe change. Our lives pivot,Forming a mysterious geometry.

Life revolves. You cannot go back one minute, or one day. In light of this, there is no use marking time in any one position. Life will continue without you, will pass you by, leaving you hopelessly out of step with events. That’s why you must engage life and maintain your pace.

Don’t look back, and don’t step back. Each time you make a decision, move forward. If your last step gained you a certain amount of territory, then make sure that your next step will capitalize on it. Don’t relinquish your position until you are sure that you have something equal or better in your grasp. But how do we develop timing for this process?

It has to be intuitive. On certain days, we come to our limits, and our tolerance for a situation ends. When that happens, change without the interference of concepts, guilt, timidity, or hesitancy. those are the points when our entire lives pivot and turn toward new phases, and it is right that we take advantage of them. We mark our progress not by the distance covered but by the lines and angles that are formed."

-pivoting365 TaoDaily MeditationsDeng Ming-Dao

I think I've finally reached a time when change is truly inevitable. My tolerance for this situation has ended, and the next phase - though still undefined - must begin.